Chapter 5 Chapter five

Chapter 5

Ravenna's POV

The grand throne hall was packed so tightly to the walls that the air felt completely hot and suffocating.

Hundreds of whispering nobles lined the marble floor, their greedy eyes locked onto me as I stood entirely alone in the absolute center of the room.

They had all gathered to watch the oldest, wolfless princess finally face the sacred embers to reveal her true rank.

I could feel the weight of their mocking judgment pressing down on my shoulders, but I forced my chin up, smoothing down the front of my white ceremonial dress.

My eyes instantly locked onto Julian, who stood proudly at the very front of the Royal Guard, his silver armor polished until it practically glowed.

He gave me a small, secret nod, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as if reminding me of his midnight promises.

The High Priest stepped forward with a heavy silver bowl, his dark robes rustling against the stone as he poured the thick ceremonial oil over the burning coals.

"Step forward, Ravenna Virelle, and show the kingdom your true blood," the Priest boomed, holding out a sharp silver blade.

My hands shook slightly as I took the knife, slicing the palm of my hand and letting my dark blood drop directly into the silver bowl.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the brilliant, explosive white fire of a dominant alpha wolf.

Instead, a sickly, dull gray smoke sputtered out of the bowl, filling the air with the foul smell of ash and rot.

The fire completely died beneath the heavy gray mist.

The Priest gasped, dropping his staff as he loudly announced my failure to the entire silent room.

"A defective omega," the Priest whispered in horror. "Her core is completely broken."

The entire court erupted into a wave of cruel, mocking laughter that echoed off the high ceiling like a slap to my face.

I stood completely frozen, my mind spinning in absolute shock as I looked over at Julian, waiting for him to step forward and protect me.

Julian stepped onto the stage, but his face was twisted into an expression of immediate, absolute disgust as he looked at my bleeding hand.

He reached out, grabbed my wrist tightly, and publicly dropped my hand in front of the gathered packs like I was something filthy.

"Do not touch me, you useless freak," Julian declared loudly, his voice carrying clearly over the mocking crowd.

"A powerful alpha commander like myself could never be bound to a broken piece of trash."

He turned his back on me without a single trace of hesitation, walking straight across the platform to take Princess Aurelia’s hand.

Aurelia smiled viciously, leaning against his side as the noble houses cheered for their new match.

The agony of his public rejection hit me like a physical blow to the chest, stealing the air right out of my lungs.

My knees gave out entirely, and I went crashing down onto the cold stone floor, clutching at the empty spot on my shoulder where his mark was already fading.

I suffocated on the raw heartbreak of his ultimate betrayal, my vision blurring with hot, heavy tears as I stared at the dirt.

Queen Valentina raised her hand from the throne, her cold eyes looking down at me with nothing but total satisfaction.

"Take her," my mother ordered the guards, her voice cutting through the noise. "Chain her for the northern trade immediately."

But before a single royal guard could even take a step toward me, the heavy iron doors of the throne hall burst open with a deafening crash that shook the entire palace.

The massive wooden panels tore completely off their hinges, splintering into pieces against the marble floor.

A freezing northern wind swept violently through the room, instantly extinguishing half the torches and filling the hall with a thick, icy fog.

Three massive, terrifying figures stepped through the heavy smoke, their dark, suffocating authority rolling across the room like a physical wave.

The heavy alpha pressure in the air vanished, replaced by something so primitive and scary that the entire alpha court instantly dropped their heads in pure survival fear.

The eldest one, his crimson eyes glowing through the mist, took a slow step forward as his heavy black boots ground the splinters into dust.

"We are here for our bride, Valentina," Caelan growled, his deep voice vibrating right through the stone floorboards. "Where is she?"

Bride?

Our?

What in the world was happening?

My brain completely short-circuited as I stared up at the three giant men from my place on the freezing floor.

And then, the absolute worst thing possible happened.

Inside my chest, the silent wolf that had been asleep for twenty years suddenly snapped its eyes open and let out a violent, deafening roar.

Mates! my wolf screamed into my mind, clawing at my core as she locked onto all three northern kings at the exact same time.

Mates, mates, mates!

I froze completely, my breath catching in my throat as

the room went entirely still, the terrifying realization locking me to the stone floor.